[XVampireX]

Also, while waiting for my Immanis, I'm watching different video reviews of the CA-1a and SR-1a to catch up to what they are.
I keep hearing about some mid-treble peak around 2k+, and heard from Vitaliy a similar thing where he says it's "sparkling" as well

 

[ApertureSilence]

Also, while waiting for my Immanis, I'm watching different video reviews of the CA-1a and SR-1a to catch up to what they are.
I keep hearing about some mid-treble peak around 2k+, and heard from Vitaliy a similar thing where he says it's "sparkling" as well

So I haven't heard the CA-1a, but I've had an SR-1a for a while and I do think it is essentially too "level" in the treble area. The positive of that is that it does feel more like a speaker response and it's very easy to EQ.

I tend to apply a very, very mild treble dip to the SR-1a that basically takes care of everything.

Now, I don't expect I'll have to do anything like this with the Immanis since (from everything written here) it seems like it's tuned like a traditional circumaural headphone.

 

[gammi]

He means the Transformer Interface in the headphone stand as potential weak link compared to direct drive amps, if I understood him correctly

Personally I don't think it is a weak link but instead very transparent and lets the amplifier signature shine through

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

So you can use RAAL headphones with noisy tube amps and it will be perfectly clean. I've personally seen this benefit, I can't use my Utopia on my one 300B tube speaker amp because it's so high gain and I can hear the constant noise floor on it. But with my CA-1a, there's zero noise.

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

It seems like Envy is not gonna be the best synergy for the Immanis apparently, I haven't heard any of it, but my impressions from different people basically saying that

Your ears are the only ones that matter.

 

[ApertureSilence]

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

So you can use RAAL headphones with noisy tube amps and it will be perfectly clean. I've personally seen this benefit, I can't use my Utopia on my one 300B tube speaker amp because it's so high gain and I can hear the constant noise floor on it. But with my CA-1a, there's zero noise.

You're now making me think... would it work with OTL tube amps also?

 

[rlawry]

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

So you can use RAAL headphones with noisy tube amps and it will be perfectly clean. I've personally seen this benefit, I can't use my Utopia on my one 300B tube speaker amp because it's so high gain and I can hear the constant noise floor on it. But with my CA-1a, there's zero noise.

I can also confirm that there is no detectable noise using the SR-1b/Ti-1b with my Benchmark HPA4 solid-state amp. The HPA4 amp has what is almost certainly the lowest distortion and highest signal-to-noise ratio of any amp existent and the result using the TI-1b is dead silence between and during musical passages.

 

[Polygonhell]

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

I'd be willing to bet the center tap on the output is connected to the ground on the input side.
They don't technically need to do this since they are dealing with low voltages anyway, and nothing is likely to float at 100's of volts, but it's pretty standard practice.

 

[gammi]

You're now making me think... would it work with OTL tube amps also?

Yes, but 32Ohm is on the low side of what those amps want to see. Ideally most OTL amps want to see like 64 Ohm or more.
Also you're kind of defeating the point putting a transformer on the output of an Output Transformer Less amp. But it would work.

I can also confirm that there is no detectable noise using the SR-1b/Ti-1b with my Benchmark HPA4 solid-state amp. The HPA4 amp has what is almost certainly the lowest distortion and highest signal-to-noise ratio of any amp existent and the result using the TI-1b is dead silence between and during musical passages.

This is just because HPA4 has no noise to begin with, the transformer isn't providing any benefit in this case.

I'd be willing to bet the center tap on the output is connected to the ground on the input side.
They don't technically need to do this since they are dealing with low voltages anyway, and nothing is likely to float at 100's of volts, but it's pretty standard practice.

I'm not sure this is the case given the noise on my noisiest amp completely disappears when I use the transformer box but is there with other headphones.

 

[XVampireX]

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

So you can use RAAL headphones with noisy tube amps and it will be perfectly clean. I've personally seen this benefit, I can't use my Utopia on my one 300B tube speaker amp because it's so high gain and I can hear the constant noise floor on it. But with my CA-1a, there's zero noise.

Isn't it also because of the low sensitivity of the Raal headphones?

 

[Polygonhell]

Isn't it also because of the low sensitivity of the Raal headphones?

I'd suspect this.
The Susvara hides a litany of amp noise problems, for specifically this reason, where as the Utopia exposes any little noise issue an amp has.

 

[jlbrach]

the susvara being so difficult to drive in this case is a virtue masking a lot of amp issues

 

[gammi]

Isn't it also because of the low sensitivity of the Raal headphones?

I'd suspect this.
The Susvara hides a litany of amp noise problems, for specifically this reason, where as the Utopia exposes any little noise issue an amp has.

I hear the noise on Susvara too. RAAL via transformer and my STAX via transformer are the only times the noise is completely gone.

 

[BassicScience]

I hear the noise on Susvara too. RAAL via transformer and my STAX via transformer are the only times the noise is completely gone.

Noise is just a small AC voltage. How does a transformer distinguish that from signal voltage?

 

[Hiker816]

Also one benefit a lot of people overlook about the transformer is it completely removes the noise floor of your amp. Since transformers are air gapped there's actually no physical connection between your amp and RAAL headphone so no electrical noise can pass through. Completely isolated. If there is distortion in the signal, that will pass through but electrical noise will not.

So you can use RAAL headphones with noisy tube amps and it will be perfectly clean. I've personally seen this benefit, I can't use my Utopia on my one 300B tube speaker amp because it's so high gain and I can hear the constant noise floor on it. But with my CA-1a, there's zero noise.

Hmmm. This makes me wonder if I'm on the wrong track thinking a grounding issue might be why my HM1 isn't doing the Immanis justice.

 

[gammi]

Noise is just a small AC voltage. How does a transformer distinguish that from signal voltage?

Right, that's why I mentioned it will pass noise in the form of distortions in the signal. It won't pass any DC hum though and that's often what a noise floor is.
Similar concept to galvanic isolation that DACs have on USB ports.

To put it another way, if you have noise coming from your amp when nothing is playing, that's what a transformer will block.